Pilot error ruled in deadly May 2009 chopper crash

HONOLULU -- An accident investigation report indicates a May 2009 helicopter crash that killed a northeast Ohio Army Airman was due to pilot error.  The crash killed Chief Warrant Officer 3 Stanley Blane Hepfner of Hubbard, Ohio and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jonathan Bryce Millward of Chubbuck, Idaho.  The report says it is impossible to tell who was actually at the controls of the chopper when it went down, but Hepfner was the pilot in command.  The report states that one of the reasons for the flight was to test the chopper's ability to autorotate, an emergency procedure in case power is lost during flight.  According to the report the pilots didn't correct airspeed to stay within safety parameters.